Money & Music Talks

We’re back again for another episode of Money & Music Talks, for the fourth installment this season. In this ‘background’ episode, we’re getting to know Dev Tejwani, who is our Chief Marketing Officer here at the AFP. He’s also got a number of other intriguing titles to his name – former CEO of popular Hip Hop Blog “TeamBackPack”, principal of Tejwani Enterprises, and a partner at the company MPWR labs.

The Marketing Genius

In this episode of “Money and Music Talks”, Dev starts off by telling us about his deep connection with marketing and social media, and how he engages with his audience on the web. He’s worked with all sorts of people- musicians, influencers and businesses. Dev states that his main goal is to “create audiences that pay for shit recording artists are selling”, which sounds like a perfect goal to us.

He then goes on to discuss how the AFP is about financial empowerment and artist empowerment and how it exists for the creator’s benefit- and shares how he’s been in the same position that some of the artists working with the AFP are in. Dev talks about AFP and how it can help take an artist from a starting position and help them evolve exponentially.

What Dev Does

After being asked, by the AFP team, about what he does for the artists – Dev mentions the different resources that he utilizes for recording artists and talks about how he helps them get that boost that they may never have had, had they not been a part of Artist Financial Program.

The team then discusses the Artists Financial Program Resource Network; going over all of the benefits that AFP provides… like songwriting, producing, styling, web development, marketing and more. Dev notes how important web development is in this context, and then goes on to share his key tools and tactics for promoting artists.

The Journey

Dev is then asked how he got into this path of Marketing recording artists, to begin with. He mentions how he was learning to build websites and understand the internet, back in 2001. Dev got into hip-hop in college and identifies this as one of the most important influences in his life. The team then asks him about other companies that he’s worked for; Dev discusses all of them and talks about how the internet has been an insanely useful tool to work with.

The conversation then turns to the importance of financial empowerment and supporting creators, and Dev shares his personal experience with working for a company that did not empower him financially. It’s great to hear personal stories, especially in this sort of context, as it highlights the importance of what we’re doing here for artist empowerment at the AFP.

The future of AFP

Dev is asked where AFP will be going in the future, and mentions key artists that AFP has signed to begin with. The conversation turns to the importance of funding again, with the team discussing how succeeding as an artist really does require a day job or some sort of investment.

Dev’s call-to-action here is for artists to find one key resource to help artists get to the next level. He mentions partners, AFP and investors, then discusses how money is really the root of success in this scenario- after all, this is about artist empowerment and funding the next greatest things in music.

Making it big

Dev is asked about his previous company (Team Backpack) and the events that they used to host for artists. Dev shares his story about artists who would pay to get to the event, spending thousands to simply arrive, and would then be unable to get home due to money. He says this didn’t sit right with him, and how it inspired him to make a difference.

The topics then change to ‘making it big’ and what this really means. The team looks at the different aspects of success, including skills, attitude and funding, and Dev shares his opinion on what the most important bits are.

Dev’s Backstory

Dev is asked about his background, and shares his story about his Indian heritage. He talks about his parents immigrating

Season 2 of the Money & Music Talks podcast premieres with a bonus-episode, looking back at 2018, how the Artist Financial Program (AFP) got started and what we can all expect going forward. This past year was monumental for AFP, raising over 1.2 million dollars in the last 6 months of the year, and providing funding/resources to more and more artists and musicians than ever before. In this episode, the team not only reflects on the growth of AFP but looks onward, discussing their plans to innovate and dominate the music industry in 2019.

Big announcements in 2019

AFP continues to evolve and grow as a team as Eyan Edwards, Dev Tejwani, Free Smith and David Tae constantly add to AFP’s vast resource network. Dev kicks things off by asking each member of the team to reflect on some of the trials and tribulations plus areas of growth they experienced in 2018. Free, talks to the growth of the team and announces some new and exciting developments moving forward.

Among the largest of the announcements, is the partnership with Metropolitan Groove Merchants (MGM), an Australian operated, global distribution company in which Free is heading the Urban department. Having a key member of AFP atop a global entity such as MGM reinforces the powerful resources AFP has at its disposal, to create artist empowerment for artists and musicians (of any age) all over the world. 2019, will also showcase the release of the first 100% tried-and-true product of the AFP system, featured artist, ‘Phaze Jackson’.

Empowering more artists and musicians

Within this season 2, kick-off episode, Eyan outlines the process in which artists (much like Phaze Jackson), went through to realize their artistic dreams. From working with AFP to raise over $100,000 through real estate investments to being provided with cash advances, production, song-writing, studios, photo-shoots, styling as well as access to social media experts, producers and promoters. Eyan tells the backstory of how his brainchild, ‘UNK NEW YORK Inc.’ (UNKNY), got started. He goes into UNKNY’s methodology, being influenced by Beyoncés Visual Album, and how the team will be using the multifaceted music, production, management, and distribution label to add to AFP’s growing network of resources.

Increased artist funding and real estate

Dev, giving up some great marketing advice to young artists, urges them to act as independent media companies and outlines the importance of pushing out fresh content consistently. He also details his own struggles in college starting, “Team Backpack” and shows his appreciation for being a part of the AFP team. Before moving on to the major take-a-ways of 2018, the team talks real estate and the power it holds not only as a smart investment but in creating cash-flow to pursue one’s artistic vision.

Major celebrities like Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, Meek Mill, and Jay-Z all actively invest in real estate for good reason. AFP looks to continue to strategically use real estate to move forward with increased resources and more funding for artists than ever before. The team also discusses how AFP’s aim is not only to provide artists and musicians with the funding they need but the skills necessary to build their audience base while still owning their own intellectual property. The days of artists signing their lives away to record labels for single payouts are gone. Today, front runners like AFP seek to help artists create passive income and financial freedom through real estate while pursuing their craft.

Big news for the future

As the episode closes out, the team shows their gratitude for one another and reinforces the value of hard work, dedication and staying close-knit as a team. There is much more to come in 2019, so stay tuned for more from Eyan, Dev, Free, and David as they host regular Money & Music Talks with the addition of special guests and hot artists. Make sure to follow the team’s journey on Instagram, subscribe to the AFP YouTube channel an

 

Money & Music Talks is back again, this time for the third episode of season 2 – David Tae’s Background. In today’s ‘background’ episode, we’re getting to know more about David Tae and his journey in the worlds of Music and Finance. David is one of the founders of AFP, so it’s great to get to sit down and chat with him. David has had a wealth of experience in the music industry and the finance industry.

David’s background

David was in the music industry for a bit, and got to work with some great artists- but says that he had a very sudden ‘awakening’ where he realized that he wasn’t in the place that he wanted to be in. He also realized that many of the major recording artists he was working with, weren’t in the financial position the world thought they were in.

He does state that he got some wonderful experience from working in music, though, and got to understand more about the industry from an inside perspective. After working in the music business, for a bit, David quit the business and got his real estate license and became a broker; entering the real estate industry with ease. David says that he wanted to ‘do something real’ and identified being a real estate developer as the best way to make some money. He discusses his desire to do something for someone else and not work for another person’s company.

AFP- the introduction and the vision

David then goes on to talk about how he got involved with the AFP. The team discusses his introduction to the company, and how he bonded with his colleagues through playing basketball. David says how he feeds off of people’s energy, and how he knew he’d found something good when meeting people from the AFP.

He’s then asked about his AFP vision for 2019, with some members of the team asking about why he left his successful real estate job. David talks about how he used to be in the music industry, and how he noticed that many people were financial down and in the bad place in life. He talks about how he cares about people, and how he wants to use his experience in Real Estate and in music to make sure that people are getting to the place where they want to be in their careers. It comes down to fulfillment for David, and he supports the vision of artist empowerment entirely.

The Money Maker

The conversation then turns to David’s experience and knowledge with money. He’s asked about his financial outlook for 2019, and then says that this year is a great time to invest and buy- due to all of the markets being down.

According to David this is the period of time where your money can make the biggest impact.

David then talks about how real estate is one of the least risky markets, and notes one of AFP’s key projects that’s occurring this year- talking about how the costs were so much lower that it would be crazy to actually be able to lose money on such a venture as this.

The conversation turns to the idea of fulfillment and being happy at work; with David’s happiness working with AFP being noted here. The team then goes on to praise David for how great he is to work with, and how dependable and efficient he is as a business partner.

David’s Vision

David is then asked what he thinks is the most important thing for artists to be thinking about this year. He starts off by following the topic of artist empowerment and musical funding, by saying that 2019 should really be your year for focusing on making money.

He encourages people to take a look at what they’re doing with their lives, and analyze whether it’s actually making them the right money or not. Being self-reflective is a really important personal skill to have, especially if you want to succeed in business.

He then goes on to say that he thinks that the worst thing that somebody could do this year is to hesitate. One thing that you don’t want to do is to get to next year, and look back on 2019 and go ‘damn, I wish I’d done that sooner’ or ‘I wish I’d worked harder on that last year’. David says that whatever you’ve got to do to be

This episode, the second installment of Money & Music Talks ‘Background’ edition, focuses on Free ‘the dreamer’ Smith, his 30+ years in the music industry, peaks, valleys and how he came to realize his veteran status within Artist Financial Program (AFP). Free, Eyan, David and Dev also discuss the importance of helping yourself before you can help others, not falling into the traps of the major record labels and give advice to young artists on how they can prepare themselves for the inevitable valley’s that come with peaks of success in this business (or in every business).

Free ‘the dreamer’ Smith: the come up

The multi-dextrous president of UNKNY, head of music for AFP, all-around music liaison and head of the Urban department for Metropolitan Groove Merchants (MGM) has many different jobs nowadays, but it wasn’t always this way. From skipping school to teach himself multiple musical instruments, to being “raped and pillaged” by the music industry, Free has experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows. In this Background edition of Money & Music Talks, the crew gets deep into Free’s background, discuss life-lessons and talk plans for the future to continue to empower artists looking to make it big in the music industry.

Since he was 13-years old, Free has been working in the music industry, slowly learning it’s ins-and-outs. He would skip school at a young age to learn multiple musical instruments, then moved onto performing and later worked with major labels, such as Elektra, to hone his production skills. After 38-years within the industry, Free now sits atop a high point in his career as an integral part of ‘the four horsemen’ (consisting of himself, Eyan Edwards, Dej Tejwani and David Tae), as the musical veteran voice of AFP. Free also heads the Urban department of the global distributor, MGM and runs their artists and repertoire (A&R) division.

Flipping the music industry on its head

After being “raped and pillaged” by the music industry, Free looks to turn his negative experiences into positivity for the next generation of struggling artists. AFP uses their knowledge, experience, and expertise to create artist empowerment with their music grant, of sorts. Unlike conventional music grants, all you need when dealing with AFP is good credit history and a vision. They provide the funding, cash-flow and networking resources.

Artist empowerment is created not only through funding, but career advice and distribution as well. Through their global resource network, artists of any genre are set up to succeed. As Free puts it in Money & Music Talks S2E00, “we don’t discriminate”. The goal of AFP, contrary to what “dumb-dumbs” write online, is to help artists. Free goes on to talk about having an ear for talent and gives a little background on UNKNY’s, first signee, Phaze Jackson, through AFP.

Peaks and valleys

“When you’re playing Madison Square Garden and 22,000 people say ‘Ay yo Free you understand!’… that’s pretty much a peak”.

After outlining some of the high points in his career, Free goes onto explain that the money doesn’t last forever. Many artists and musicians feel that their fame, fortune, and those $30,000 checks will never stop rolling in. The reality is, that the money can stop at any point, and that’s why a program like AFP is so special. Free has learned the hard way, through experiencing valleys that come along with peaks of success, he’s learned the value of smart investments.

Don’t get fucked

As Free puts it, “no one gives a fuck about you as an individual”, and the music industry will take everything from you if you don’t have a solid team around you. Some of the key advice Free gives to young artists out there who are yet to experience ‘the highs’, is to have self-worth, be humble and don’t sell yourself short. Investing in something solid like real estate is sustainable (not like selling drugs). But most importantly, own your own intellectual property so you can continue

The crew is back in the official premiere episode of Money & Music Talks, season 2, featuring the first installment of ‘Background’, in which they dive into the story of each team member, each episode. This episode focuses on the CEO and Founder of Artist Financial Program (AFP), Eyan Edwards. Eyan talks about his family ties to the music industry, humble beginnings and how he discovered the money-making strategy that AFP was built on. From waking up in the middle of the night with a crazy idea, to flipping properties for millions of dollars, AFP wasn’t built overnight, and Eyan tells his side of the story.

Humble beginnings

As of today, AFP continues to grow… attracting new brands, label executives, partners and clients all with the shared goal of providing artists and musicians all over the world with financing to pursue their artistic dreams. Unlike a music grant, AFP doesn’t only provide artists with funding but creates total artist empowerment by exposing artists and musicians to AFP’s vast and global resource network as well. This vision started long before the crew got together. Before Eyan met David, Free or Dev, and in this episode of Money & Music Talks, Eyan delves into exactly how AFP came together and became the success it is today.

As the only son of the former Vice President of Capitol Records – Wayne Edwards – (having rostered artists such as MC Hammer, Brian McKnight, Tamia, Bebe & Cece Winans, and more), and a 2 time Grammy-nominated singer, Angel Rogers, Eyan has had great exposure to the music industry and behind-the-scenes insight from the time he was a kid. He saw time and time again, artists making it to the top of their field and then losing everything. At the end of the day, artists are creatives and generally don’t think of the business aspect of their craft. This causes so many artists to be taken advantage of and robbed of the earnings their short-lived careers reward them. As he noticed in his own mother’s life, the money doesn’t last forever.

Recognizing the patterns

It wasn’t until Eyan was forced to close his record label, ‘UNK NEW YORK’, after realizing he didn’t have the funds to pursue it any longer that he discovered how real and sustainable money was made. Working multiple jobs, hustling, Eyan was sleeping on his mother’s couch when he met a real estate developer that would prove to be an integral figure in his journey (and in the creation of AFP).

Observing artists like Jay-Z, DJ Envy, Rick Ross and Meek Mill, Eyan realized that everyone in the music industry that kept making tons of money even after the record industry stopped paying out like it used to, all had invested in real estate. It was from there that he used his talent for connecting-the-dots to develop his own system for flipping houses, soon having access to millions upon millions of dollars.

The origin of the Artist Financial Program

As a college drop-out who had tried every opportunity available, Eyan found that the secret to real sustainable income, was not trying to do everything at once, but focus on one single path and turn it into a cash-cow. But even after realizing a high-level of success flipping properties, Eyan still had his troubles breaking into the music industry. After a failed attempt at partnering with Sony and having his idea “borrowed”, he decided he needed to save his valuable ideas for himself and turn them into something big once he found the right team. That’s when he met David, who introduced him to Free and in turn, Dev… the rest is history.

Moving forward and upwards

Throughout this in-depth, Background episode, the four-man crew discuss Eyan’s journey and praise him for his balance of business savvy and love for the music industry. They then talk more about their goals for AFP, striving higher each year and creating opportunities and empowerment for artists. Artist empowerment, means making artists and musicians money to pursue music careers all while letting them keep th

In this new episode of Money & Music Talks, Dev, Eyan, & David discuss the true engine behind the Artist Financial Program’s proprietary process, Real Estate Development. In Part 1 of AFP process, we talked, in depth, how the credit portion of our program works. Here we break down each aspect of the real estate – including why we chose real estate, how we are able to advance the funding, and things we look for in property purchasing. E-Mail use any questions at [email protected].

In the third official episode of Money & Music Talks, Dev and David sit down with Lijah Lu, one of the first AFP clients and current Konvict Muzik protégé. Lijah talks about his start in music, where he is at right now, his relationship with the legendary Akon, and several tips for up-and-coming artists.

In this episode of Money & Music Talks, Eyan and David break down the credit portion of the AFP process. Learn why having good credit is important, why it is necessary for our investment opportunity, why people fear credit/debt, and how to fix your credit if it is not where it needs to be. Check back in 2 weeks to learn about the Real Estate development portion of the AFP process.